Students and teachers in Bangalore get a taste of RTI

Vidya Iyengar; Bangalore: DNA; Tuesday, Sep 28, 2010;

To question is the trait of youth. And empowering this youth with the right to information could just be a way of addressing the irregularities the society is teeming with.

A workshop, ‘Students network as an aid to effective implementation of the RTI Act’, organised by the Commonwealth Human Right Initiatives, Delhi and Consumer Rights Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT), on Monday, sought to make students, youth and teachers aware of their right to information.

“I was not aware that if a school is constructed on a land given at a subsidised rate or 25% of the seats must be reserved for children from economically backward sections,” said Amrutha S Rao, a student.“Now that I am aware of the act, I know it is my right to inquire and question why several schools which have got subsidised land are not giving seats to the poor,” she said.

Prof Rekha V Ganachari of Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College said: “I want to know if students can use the act when results are withheld without reason and in other such situations.” Rekha planned to start a club to educate students on how to make right use of the act. “Information helps in fighting corruption and poverty,” YG Muralidharan, founder trustee of CREAT, said.